Thunder
by toolazytofindaname
Summary: Sasuke is plagued by nightmares, but why? And what will he do to stop it? "It wouldn't be like that, if you just stayed" "Goodbye Sasuke" SasuSaku. (Very) slight NaruHina. Varying chapter length.
1. Morning-messages

First chapter of my new story! Please enjoy it and tell me what you think! Reviews are very much appreciated.

I do not own Naruto or any of the characters. Only the plot and eventual OOC-ness belongs to me.

* * *

Sasuke didn't like mornings. Especially not winter mornings. They were always so dark. And cold. Also, mornings means waking up, and waking up means no more sleep. No more sleep; no more dreams. Sasuke liked his dreams. Well, most of them, anyway.

This morning in particular wasn't really that bad though. It was warm – even though it was winter. And this morning smelled nice. – The scent of cherries and the actions from the night before hung in the air. And when Sasuke opened his eyes, he found that the world was not dark – it was pink. Sasuke wondered why that could be until his sight cleared up and he saw that it wasn't the whole world that was pink – just the hair in front of him.

'_She stayed'_ was the first Sasuke thought as his mind made the connection:

Warmth plus pink hair equals Sakura.

Sasukes rather sluggish train of thought was broken when the pink hair began to move.

"Sasuke? Are you awake?" Sasuke just grunted in response as he closed his eyes and enjoyed the sound of her voice. "I hate to tell you this first thing in the morning, but I have to say it…"

"Hm? What is it?" Sasuke asked as he wondered what it could be, that had her sound so serious. When she hadn't answered after a moment, Sasuke opened his eyes to look at her. She looked troubled. Then her expression changed, and she looked at him with determination.

"I think it's time we end this."

"What do you mean?" Sasuke was confused. End what?

"We have to stop seeing each other like this. It's not doing any of us any good." '…_What?!'_

"What the hell are you talking about?!"

"I don't want to just be the one to keep your dick warm, Sasuke. And don't even try to object, because that's all I am to you and you know it." Sakura was now standing up next to the bed, pulling on her clothes.

"It wouldn't be like that, if you just stayed." Sasuke said with a blank face, even as he tried to ignore the tight knot forming in his stomach.

"Oh shut up, Sasuke. You know that wouldn't change a thing." She was standing in the door now. "Goodbye, Sasuke." Sasuke didn't bother to run after her. He didn't even call out for her – he knew it would be of no use, so he just stayed in the bed looking blankly at the place where she had stood just a moment before. _'So that was why she was so reluctant and preoccupied last night?'_

Sasuke definitely hated mornings.


	2. Worries

Second chapter already! This one's a bit longer than the first, but not much. I hope you can all live with that. Please enjoy! And remember that reviews are always very much loved!

* * *

"Hey, Sakura?" Naruto said after a long moment of staring off into nothing and looking as though in deep thought. As deep in thought as Naruto can be, that is.

"Yeah?" Sakura answered, a bit unsure of whether Naruto was able to hear her, seeing as he was still staring into space.

"It's not full moon, is it?"

"Uhm, no, no it's not… Why?"

"It's just… Sasuke was acting strange today, and he's usually only like that around full moon… Especially around the day of the massacre" To say Sakura was surprised would be an understatement. Sure she and Naruto knew Sasuke pretty well, and were among the very few who could actually tell the finer details about his mood, but… Naruto had noticed that Sasuke was acting different, even though Sakura hadn't, and she had been looking for any differences in him. And Naruto had also been able to draw a parallel between Sasukes behavior today and that around full moon and the death-date of his family. So why hadn't she been able to see it? Was he deliberately trying to act normal around her?

When Naruto turned to look at her, it occurred to Sakura that he probably expected a reaction or comment of some sort, so she responded.

"He's probably just got a bad day or something. He'll be fine tomorrow."

-X.X.X-

"So. Let me get this right. You and Sasuke used to… see each other… at a regular basis, but you wanted something more than just… that… And you don't think Sasuke would willingly give that to you so now you aren't seeing each other anymore at all?" Naruto had been strangely observant for the last few days, and had noticed the cold air between Sasuke and Sakura, and thinking that he wouldn't get Sasuke to tell him what was wrong (he wasn't really one to share his feelings, after all) he had asked Sakura. And she had told him everything.

"Yes, that's right."

"And Sasuke's cool with that?"

"Well, he didn't really object, and he just had his usual blank expression on, so… so, yeah, I think he's pretty cool with it."

"When do you say you told him?"

"A couple of days ago. Why?"

"Well, he's been looking pretty tired last few days…"

"Hm. He probably found someone else, who… keeps him awake all night, every night."

"Yeah… probably…" Naruto wasn't convinced at all, and he was sure Sakura knew that. He could see the 'don't-you-believe-me?'-look in her eyes. But he could also see that he wouldn't get her to change her decision. Not yet, at least.

-X.X.X-

"That's enough for today!" Kakashi said, and Sasuke didn't even bother to sit up after Naruto punched him to the ground. It was weird, Naruto thought, the way he seemed so distracted - like he couldn't focus on their sparring match at all. It had been like that for a whole week now, and it was starting to really worry him. '_That's it!' _he thought. _'I'm gonna ask him right now, and I'm gonna beat him up until he tells me!'_ With that thought in mind, Naruto walked straight over to where Sasuke was still lying on the ground, gazing up at the sky. Kakashi had already vanished to God knows where and Sakura hadn't been there at all.

"What's wrong, Sasuke?" Naruto half asked, half demanded as he stood over Sasuke. The Uchiha didn't react but just continued to stare off into space.

"Sasuke!" Naruto said again, this time a little louder.

"What?" came the irritated reply from Sasuke.

"What's wrong?" the blonde asked again, this time a little gentler, as he crouched down next to Sasuke. There was something in those deep black eyes that made him think that fighting wouldn't get them anywhere.

Sasuke continued to look at the sky, and Naruto got the idea that he wasn't really seeing anything. The empty look in Sasukes eyes unsettled him a bit, but then Sasuke spoke up. "Why would you think anything was wrong?"

"Well, you… you seem kinda… off… somehow… I don't really know how else to explain it. You let me win. Well, I could always beat you, but you made it so easy for me today. You were distracted. You never get distracted! Well, unless Sakura's-"

"I'm fine, dope." Sasuke said as he stood up. "I'm just tired, okay."

As Sasuke walked away Naruto pondered whether it was a coincidence that the raven-haired youth broke him off the second he mentioned Sakura.


	3. Worries pt 2

Yay! I'm on a roll! Here's third chapter! I know it's kinda short (just like the first two chapters -_- ), but I promise the next will be longer! (I know, 'cause I'm done writing it, it just needs proof-reading and such) Oh well, I hope you enjoy! Please leave a review!

* * *

His team was acting strange, Kakashi pondered, as he watched them eat together at Ichiraku's. Now that he thought about it, it had been like that for some time now. Naruto wasn't acting much different than usual, but Kakashi had caught him casting worried glances at Sasuke from time to time. And it seemed like he was holding back just a bit in their sparring matches. – Like he was afraid he would actually hurt Sasuke badly.

It was more apparent with Sakura. She was talking a lot more with Naruto, and less with Sasuke. And she had been so hostile towards her black-haired teammate lately. She was treating him like a dog really. Except she was never complimenting, only commenting or scolding him when he made even the slightest mistake. _Something must have happened between the two…_ Kakashi thought.

And from Kakashis point of view, it seemed as though it had been worst for Sasuke. He was silent – even more so, than he used to be. All throughout the day, he hadn't uttered a single word. Not even a 'dope' or 'idiot' when Naruto had said something stupid, or 'annoying' when Sakura was scolding him. Right now he was just staring absentmindedly at his now cold ramen as he twirled it around with his chopsticks, and Kakashi suddenly got the picture of a grieving man swirling his sake around in his almost empty glass.

Kakashi thoughts were broken off, when he saw Sasuke sliding his bowl over to Naruto before standing up and walking away. Not towards his house, Kakashi noted, but back towards the training grounds, and Kakashi remembered that training was Sasukes method of letting out any sort of frustrations. _'I need to talk with Sakura'_

-X.X.X-

"I don't get it! What's his problem anyway? It's not like I'm that harsh towards him!" Sakura exclaimed to Kakashi as they were sitting in the training grounds, after Kakashi had asked to talk with her for a moment. It was just the two of them there, since Naruto had gone to Ichiraku's to meet up with Hinata. And Sasuke… well; he'd just disappeared as soon as Kakashi had let them go. He didn't even give them a reason! What a jerk!

"No. You're even worse."

Sakura nearly choked. "_What?!"_

"You heard me. You're treating him even worse than how he's treating you. Sasuke has just gone back to how he was towards you before you two started… seeing… each other. You're treating him like he's not worthy of your company. And, just half an hour ago, you yelled at him, scolding him for insulting you, when even Naruto could tell he was actually complimenting you." Sakura didn't respond to that. She was thinking. Was she really that cruel to him? Well, it was his own fault, after the way he had used her, completely regardless of her feelings! But… hadn't she been the one to initiate it the first time? And hadn't Sasuke said that it had been her own fault? That it would've been different if she hadn't left every morning, before he even woke up? Sakura was brought out of her thoughts when Kakashi stood up.

"He loves you, Sakura. – He just doesn't know how to tell you."

With that he left.

Sakura didn't move though. She was thinking. Was that really true? Could it be…? Could it be that his blank expression, when she told him they couldn't see each other like that anymore, was actually just a defense; a way of hiding that it really hurt him? That would at least explain the hurt she thought she'd seen in his eyes as she said goodbye.

-X.X.X-

"Sasuke."

"Hn?"

"What's wrong?"

"I've told you already, Naruto; I'm just tired. Really."

"Then go home and sleep, instead of just standing there!"

"You know, that's exactly the problem…" Sasuke sighed.

"Huh?" Naruto was confused; what the hell was he talking about?

"I can't sleep. Haven't been able to the last week or so…"

"I'm gonna go have a word with Sakura" Naruto muttered under his breath as he turned to leave.

Sasuke jerked up. "Naruto. Naruto!" Naruto turned to look at him. "Don't."

"What?! Why not?"

"Please just don't. It's not gonna work anyway."


	4. Memories

Okay, so: next chapter! Before I go on I'd like to thank all those who are actually reading my story, and especially those who review! Seeing that a couple of the reviews I've got are from guest, I'll reply to them here, since I can't send PMs to them. (Those of you who haven't reviewed can skip this part)

**To: Guest** (I looooove this story but but but it's DOBE not dope! Keep it upp)

Hehe, I'm glad you like it! I'm so sorry! I'm reading the manga in Danish, so I've got 'the Dobe' from fanfics, and it's different how they spell it, so… So thank you for telling me! XD

**To: Midnight runner** (Aww poor Sasuke :( oh well he's not without blame. I am looking forward to the next chapter :) )

For some reason I like torturing him like this :P Probably because I'm mad at him for leaving and everything… Oh well, you've got your next chapter right here! :D

* * *

Sasuke was lying in his bed, staring off into the darkness, not able to fall asleep. The insomnia was nothing new – it had been like that for almost two weeks by now – but the storm raging outside wasn't really helping. He wasn't exactly scared – there was nothing to be afraid of after all– but his nightmares were haunting him, not giving him a chance to get just a wink of sleep. It was strange, really, because it hadn't been that much of a problem before. But then again; before, Sakura had been there to chase away the nightmares. He wasn't really sure how she did it, but it seemed her mere presence was enough. Maybe she was the reason they came back? It hadn't been as severe before, had it? But the loss of those treasured nights in Sakura's company, maybe that had triggered something inside him, and had made all those memories resurface? He would never forget them, he knew, and he didn't want to either, but they had been locked up somehow – veiled so they wouldn't bother him too much. But Sakura had been somehow been the lock, the chain they were bound with, and now that she was gone (she was still there he knew, and they were still friends… somewhat, but still!) they broke loose easily, and they would drive him crazy if he didn't do something about it. But what could he do? He'd tried everything! And only one thing had worked: Sakura. But he had been stupid and naïve and he hadn't searched further; hadn't tried to find something else, in case Sakura wouldn't stay forever. Somewhere deep inside, he had hoped that by the time Sakura would no longer be with him, he, himself, would be long gone – or at least have learned to suppress those memories without help. But he'd been wrong, and Sakura had left him, because he hadn't been able to tell her what he really felt; the _real_ reason why he had let her in, had let her sneak into his room, into his bed that night.

**Flashback:**

_Sasuke shut up in his bed. He had been sleeping, but was awakened by his keen senses telling him that someone was there, in his room. A light sob, barely hearable over the roaring wind. Lightning. A silhouette in front of his window. Another sob._

"_S-Sasuke?" a light, shaken voice whispered. "Sasuke? Are- are you awake?"_

"_Sakura?" Sasuke asked, unbelieving. "What are you doing here?"_

"_I- I'm scared" Sakura sniffed._

"_Of what?"_

"_The thunder"_

"_Why? There's nothing to be afraid of"_

"_B- I- But- Please, can- can I stay here? Just until the s-storm is over? Please?"_

_Another lightning and Sasuke could see equal parts of fear and hope in those green, green eyes. She hadn't looked at him like that since the night he left Konoha. He couldn't resist that look. He couldn't hurt her again. Never again – he had sworn that to himself. "Fine. Come here."He could almost see her eyes light up in the darkness of his room, before thunder hollered once more, and she yelped and ran to his bed, quickly climbing in. He let her. He even lifted the covers for her, so she could snuggle up to his chest and fist her little hands in his shirt. Sasuke felt a tinge of pride when he heard her sobs cease. But she was still shaking. Whether it was from fear or the icy-cold water she was drenched in he wasn't sure._

"_Sakura" The pinkette made a soft noise of acknowledgement, to let him know she heard him. "You're shaking." She just cuddled closer to him, if that was even possible. "You're freezing."_

"_I'm fine" Sakura mumbled into his chest._

"_Sakura. You'll get sick."_

"_I'm fine, Sasuke."_

"_Sakura. You're drenched, and you're drenching my bed. You should go take a shower and-"_

"_I'm fine, Sasuke!" Sasuke just sighed at her stubbornness._

"_At least let me find some dry clothes for you." Sakura looked up at that, and Sasuke had to move his head back to look at her._

"_Would you?"_

"_Of course! Otherwise I wouldn't practically be begging for you to let me, would I?"_

"_I guess not… Is it really okay that I'm here? You don't mind?"_

"_Sakura. Shut up and let go of my shirt so I can find those stupid clothes. And a towel."_

"_Oh… yeah, I'm sorry…" Sakura said as she let go of his shirt._

"_It's okay, Sakura, it's okay…" his voice trailed off as he looked into her eyes again._ 'Stop it! Snap out of it!' _Sasuke mentally slapped himself, to get out of the trance he was seemingly caught in. Her eyes just did that to him, somehow. It wasn't the first time he had caught himself almost drowning in those beautiful green orbs. He knew that if he didn't look away he would indeed drown. Hurriedly, he stood up and strode across the room, out the door and into the laundry room, where he looked around for a minute before he found some clean, dry clothes and a towel before he went back to his room. As he reached the doorway, he stopped abruptly. Right in front of him stood Sakura, as a deer caught in the headlights. They were both frozen, and Sasuke had a moment to look her over. She was only clad in her undergarments, which consisted of a black, laced g-string and a red bra covered in black lace. Her clothes were lying at the floor around her. Without his brain's permission, Sasuke's eyes traveled over her figure, noting the beautiful, pale skin, her long slender legs, the curves of her waist and breast… _'Damn'_ It took a couple of seconds for Sasuke to realize that Sakura was now walking towards him; slowly, shyly and yet seductively._

"_You know," She started when she stopped in front of him, looking at her hand trailing circles on his chest. "You should probably find some dry clothes for yourself as well… - I've cried all over your shirt."_

"_I'll be fine" Sasuke said, reluctant to leave the girl before him, even for just a minute._

"_Let me help you" she said as her hands traveled to the hem of his shirt, and started lifting it off him. He let her. He dropped the clothes he had found to her, and let her pull the shirt completely off him. For a moment they stood still; staring into each other's eyes. Her hands had found his chest again, but his were just dangling at his sides until he slowly lifted one to touch her cheek and brush a few strands of hair behind her ear. Then he moved it to hold her chin and let his thump stroke her lower lip gently. Slowly, she leaned in closer and stood on her toes as he bend down just enough for their lips to m-_

**End of flashback**

'_No!´ _he couldn't think about that night. It only made things worse. Why did she have to leave him? Why couldn't she understand that he _needed _her? That he would never be able to use her like she thought he had done? That he didn't want to lose her, like he had lost everybody else? Sasuke was tired. He hadn't slept for almost two weeks. Even for a ninja, that's hard. He tried to just shut his eyes and go to sleep, but the second his eyelids were closed, images from _that_ night flew through his mind. And for some reason, he found it difficult to open his eyes again. When he finally succeeded, the pictures faded away, but the voices kept on repeating over and over again in his head, almost driving him mad.

_Mom! Dad!_

_You're too weak!_

_It's time we end this_

_Hate me!_

_Sasuke, what's wrong?_

_Your hate is not strong enough!_

_Goodbye, Sasuke_

_NO!_


	5. Reunion

WUHUU! FINAL CHAPTER! The first multi-chapter story I've actually finished! I'm so happy! This is shorter than the last chapter, but I hope you like it anyway :) And I'm sorry about the long wait, but school has taken up much of my time lately. I'm glad I held it back this long, though – I just added about 200 words! :D

Even though I'm now done with this and have time to work on other stories, please don't expect too much from me anytime soon. I'll do my best, though, to try get something uploaded :) For now, please just enjoy the last chapter of 'Thunder' and please do leave a review!

And by the way – I do not own 'Naruto' or any of the characters. The plot is all mine, though.

* * *

Sakura jerked her head towards the window. What was that? She was sure she saw something in her window out of her peripheral view. It was probably just her own paranoia – It was one a.m. and she hadn't got a wink of sleep because of the storm raging outside. She had always been so paranoid on stormy nights. Well, except for the ones she had spend with Sasuke, but that was a closed up chapter. Maybe it was just something that was being thrown around by the wind, like… a big plastic-bag or something. Yeah that was probably it.

Sakura had almost convinced herself when lightning struck again and she saw a figure moving towards her bed. She was just about to scream, when she noticed something familiar about the silhouette – she would recognize that hair everywhere.

"S- Sasuke? Is that you?" Sakura whispered, barely loud enough to be heard over the roar of the storm. The figure just nodded and moved to lie down beside her in the bed. "No!" The figure, Sasuke, stopped and when Sakura looked closely she could make out two dark eyes looking puzzled at her. And there was something else there… could it be…? Fear? Suddenly memories of the nights she had spent with Sasuke when the thunder scared her flew through her mind. He would hold her and say that there was nothing to worry about, that she should go to sleep and that everything would be back to normal in the morning. Could it be that he had needed her as much as she had needed him? Was that why he had agreed so easily to let her in? If that was the case, Sakura suddenly felt guilty that she had just automatically assumed that was going to rape her mere seconds ago. Should she let him sleep with her?

As light filled the room for a split-second before it vanished again, Sakura got a better look at Sasuke. The black rings around his eyes and the almost hurt look in those dark orbs made up her mind. She moved a little to the side and Sasuke seemed to get the message, because he climbed into the bed, lying down next to her. As she lifted the covers to put them over him as well, Sasuke was suddenly holding her tightly, one arm around her waist, the other holding onto her shoulder as he buried his head in the crook of her neck. He was shaking, she noticed; like a leaf. It was as if he was afraid she would disappear if he loosened his grip. Sakura, shocked by his strange behavior, wound her arms around him in turn, and rubbed his back soothingly, whispering comforting words in his ear. It wasn't long before the young medic felt the shaking turn into small, jerky movements, and she pushed the former missing-nin a little away from her, so that she could see his face. That only confirmed her suspicion. – He was crying… It took a moment for that to sink in. He, _Sasuke Uchiha_, was _crying!_ Sakura suddenly felt tears well up in her own eyes as well, but she fought them back. She had to be strong now. For him. So instead, she held him closer, kissed the side of his head and ran her fingers through his hair, trying to calm him down the best she could.

"This was why you wanted me to stay, wasn't it?" Sakura said after a little while. Sasuke just nodded against her shoulder. "It was never really about the sex, was it?" Sasuke wasn't sure how to respond to that. It was about the sex. – Just not nearly as much as it was about the fact that he _needed _her. He needed her to fend off his demons, to keep him believing; to keep him alive.

Sakura seemed to understand him, because she chuckled lightly and pecked his temple and told him to get some sleep. ("You really need it!"). Then she reassured him that he didn't have to worry – she would still be there when he woke up.

And that did it for Sasuke: in a matter of seconds he was out like a light, more passing out from exhaustion than just falling asleep. Sakura figured that was to be expected. Now that she thought about it he _had _seemed a little off the past two weeks. And the bags under his eyes made it clear that he hadn't been sleeping much lately. Maybe her theory from earlier wasn't as farfetched as she had thought? Maybe he really did need her as much as she needed him? Maybe he even loved her? If not, she was at least sure that he would never fall asleep with another girl in his arms.

-X.X.X-

Sasuke didn't like mornings. Especially not winter mornings. But that day, when he woke up in the warm embrace of the most beautiful, most lovable girl in the world, he decided to reconsider.


End file.
